Roller bearing and lubricating-pad holder for leaf springs



Nov. 23 1926.

F. B. LEONARD ROLLER BEARING AND IJUBRICATING PAD HOLDER FOR LEAF SPRINGS Filed Dec. 26. 1925 ssl m Patente-d Nov. 23, 1926-.

l 1 kU Noi TED? sliATE Y FRANKB.lLEoNARmoFLos'nnennnsyonnnronivnm y ROLLERBEAMNG ANDLUBMCMINrAD -nonnnnon neen .sPmNes.-;-

' My invention f :relates -genenllyl tofl {leef-A springs vof the typeusnallyeinployed on nio?,- I y y I l bnieeting. pad.. holdinggfdeviee.

tor vehicles andmorepartieulerly to a de' vice thet'isedaptedpto hetiatteehed tosa leef 5 spring andvwhieh lserves .the three-fold pui-g pose of'a spacer for the leaves of-ffthe spring, a holder for lubricant-carrying .pads en desaj retainer-forsanti-frietion shearing.V .xnernloers A Y Y d y, Y A

.Jbetweenihe holder; and .the 'Spllng.

suoli ets-'rollers that are disposed between the leaves .ofthe springn...

The principal. ob 'eots holderl and' rollerfbearving retainer, .fthatis 'of relatively simple \.strnotnre, yeetpztlole of ileeing1 easily land. cheaply; produced, endwhioh .mayj be readily. appliedr tot or vremoved yfrom e lesvfflativelpositions betweenthe.letvesfof a; spring, e series-zon.tntiefrietion.rollers, asiyvell es ,e seri-esy ...of .'lluhriotnti...containing,. pds .andi. which 4provision,..it.will lhe'nunderstood, :'will'f materially. increase itheiieieetiveness, v`of. the

i lee-ves of. the' spring prevents L the; formation of ust and Vv'vhieh result,v"coinhined WittLlibre.

enti-frictionV effeet produced lthenfrollr bearingsl; minimizes, the g tendency` oil the spring Vleves toferystalliz'e Linder eontinned f ac-tion, end eonseqnentlylinoreases the' lifeorf periodof'serviee of the spring ytof-Wlneh the.` y 4 y y A leaves 10. 51nd yllyare disposed in alignmentA device is rapplied..y j

Nimh' the' foicegoing' V enel other ohieots in 40 described-1nd lavinied end illnstrated in the aecornpafnyingdrawings inlwhiehf 'Fig'znre' 1 is'e perspeemvevietvof 4aportion Vvice" is applied.

` Fit; 2 is an'enlerged vertical section takenY` f Figsl isfanxenlarged -eross section teken' on'the lline 5 5 kof g2."

A fnrtherrobj'eet ofliny invention is `togpnofV y.

view', I nyfginvention eonsists'inV Cer-tain novelA evturesoi Construction and ufrengenientV offv parts thztwillr bel hereinafter `inore.\fn'lly-- Y, I

"the.leegsoi:` the .Clin lor sheckle '17 .enclfthe 'square or `lreotenig'nla'r and which? is `adapted- Figlzlisl @perspective vievsT olie modified.

orm of -rny irnpnorved. roller bearing and lue in the modigfied fforinof the device'.

FigVLQQis av .detail section showing the Referring rloy.y n-ninerls `.to the accompanyingadljewings; which illnstrete e ypraetiezilz.

embodiment. Lofniyl invention, l0, 11512. and

type generally used ..'o`n..: 1notor A vehieles .70

the .endof the:lowverf.lenf.10 being.v seonrediin the.usnalfginennerfto .the .lower kheli of: the.r spning. .orto treme' member -suoli es '14. f

Interposed Between the endportions of the leavesfflO/and 11 nfl f1l.end.12'ref'Aspraeing` plates suehesl 15,;7 oflsniteble inetl, #the f thickness .of .'.whieh .isff approximately the seme for slightly flessthmtheto the' spring, leavesy and theewidth of 'seidV4 pletesend seidleeves'lheing practically. giel.. :1 .Y 5 l "Formed integral "itheaeh pleelfndon the A:sides Y.thereon.neznglooth' ends are. pairs oeive ,the legsof inverter Uisliepedf clips or Innsmneh as 'the overlying* ,spnings are With'xespeettothe. end o t yis. po sitioned portionof plete llzthet'is'.inserted. hetveenfg Y letterheinngfseenied inpositionzonthe spring. by. a` leoltv 18,thet,passes. .throughlthe.lower ends2 of the legs 'of seidolip heneatlit,the` loWerflea-.10... v*.5 .i 1

pairs of lugsy 16. on theonter., portionY oi? thelpl tethetiispositioned between leavesv 10i and. .iney loe hentn ard against. the'V sideedges leaill es.; retedrin llelrplate l5 is provided intermediate its fende: .with an. rapeiztiue .19,k vpreferehl v to, receive and. rettinnn. absorbent pedi-20; preferably -of .fibrous materiel sueltas-felt p nonas showing" .30 Y the means-employed ,for lholdingthe roller and which is loaded with Ylubi'icating oil, prior to the insertion of the plate between the spring leaves.

Formed in each plate 15 is a substantially rectangular aperture 21 that is for the reception of a transversely arranged auto friction bearing anti-friction bearing roller 22 of relatively hard wear-resisting metal.

The diameter of this roller is slightly greater than the thickness of the plate, so that when properly applied for use, the underface of the leaf that bears on top of the roller is maintained out of contact with the upper surface of the inserted plate 15.

The front and rear edges of each aperture 21 are made slightly concave or curved throughout its length so that if the roller that is positioned within the aperture Occupies a position directly against either edge, the ends only of said roller have bearing against the spacing plate, thereby minimizing friction as said roller is rotated by movement of the spring leaves.

Positioned between leaves 12 and'13 is a relatively short spacing plate 15a having a pad-receiving opening 19 and an opening 21a for an anti-friction roller.

This short plate has spaced lugs 16a on its side edges that are in substantial vertical alignment with the rear or inner pairs of lugs on the plate that is positioned between leaves l1 and 12 and positioned between the aligned lugs are the legs of the clip or shackle 17a.

Passing through the lower ends Vof this clip is bolt 241 and depending from the cross bar of said clip is a stud 25 that engages in an aperture 26 that is formed in leaf 13 for the reception of a similar stud that is carried by the clip that is usually placed on springs of this type.

When my improved device is properly applied to a spring and the latter is in action, there is a slight relative longitudinal movement between the leaves of the spring and, due to the presence of the rollers 'and the lubricating pads between said leaves, this relative movement is practically free and unrestricted with the result that the resiliency and riding qualities of the spring are greatly increased and said spring will resist and absorb shocks and vibration to a much greater degree than a spring that is notV equipped with the roller bearings and lubricating means.

The relative movement between the leaves of the springs,vsets up a. pumping action that is effective in maintaining a thorough distribution of the lubricant from the pads 2O over the contacting surfaces of. said leaves.

This effective lubrication of the spring and the roller bearings between the leaves thereof prevents the formation of rust, minimizes friction in those portions of the leaves that have the greatest movement in action' and greatly increases the life of the spring, inasmuch as the tendency of the leaves to crystallize and break is reduced to a minimum.

In the modified construction illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, the roller-bearing retainer consists of an elongated plate 27 carrying on its side edges upstanding ears 28 and projecting inwardly fi'oiii the latter are pairs of spaced ears 29 that occupy positions between the spring leaves and serve to ietaiii in position between said leaves, rollers 30,' as illustrated in Fig. 8.

This member 27 may be retained in position on the spring by bending the upper ends of the ears 28 over onto the top of the spring as indicated by 31, Fig. 7, or the upper ends of one or moreA pairs ofthe ears may be perforated to receive a bolt asv designated by 32, Fig. 7.

Obviously when this form ofv deviceiis I used, the upper portions of the ea'rs 28 mustY be bent outward a sufficient distance to permit said device to be moved from beneath the spring, upward into proper position thereupon.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a leaf spring roller bearing land lubricating pad holder that is of relatively simple structure, capable of being easily and vcheaply produced and which is very effective in per,-

forming its intended functions. Y*

Obviously, minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved leaf spring roller and lubricating pad holder, may be madeA and substituted for those herein described without departing from the spirit of the invention,- the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: Y.

1. In a roller bearing and lubricating device for leaf springs, a plate adapted to be inserted between the leaves of a spring, said plate having a pair of openings, an anti-friction member arranged for rolling movement within one of said openings, an absorbent lubricant pad positioned in the other opening, and spaced lugs projecting from the side edges of said plate and adapted to receive the legs of a clip.

2. In a roller bearing and lubricating device for leaf springs. a plate adapted to be positioned between the leaves of a spring and provided with an opening, the oppositely disposed members of a pair ofthe edges of said opening being curved lengthwise so that the ends of said opening .are narrower than the central portion thereof.

and a roller loosely arranged within said opening and adapted to roll toward and away from the curved edges of said opening.

3. In a vehicle shock absorbenthe corribination of al spring including a plurality of superposed spring leaves, a retainerl plate disposed intermediate adjacent leaves and lformed With a rectangular opening, the

nation of a spring including a plurality otY superposed spring leaves, a retainer platev disposed `intermediate adjacent leaves and formed with an opening, the transverse Walls of the opening being concave, and an anti-friction roller disposed Within the opening of the said retainer plate and having Contact With adjacent leaves, said roller being 'adapted to engage either oi said concave Walls of the opening in the retainer plate and to have point contacts therewith adjacent the ends of the roller, the Width ot said opening in the retainer plate being greater than the diametei1 of the roller to permit of limited bodily movement of the latter.

5. In a vehicle shock absorber, the combination of a spring including a plurality of superposed spring leaves, a retainer plate disposed intermediate adjacent leaves and formed with an opening, an anti-frictional rolling element disposed Within the opening of said retainer plate and having contact With said leaves, said retainer plate eX- tending beyond the sides of the leaves, and a shackle surrounding said leaves and clamped against the sides of saidretainer plate. Y

6. In a vehicle shock absorber, the combination of a spring' including aplurality of ,superposed spring leaves, aretainer plate disposed intermediate adjacent leaves and formed with an opening, an anti-frictional roller element disposed Within the opening of said retainer plate and having contact With said leaves, said retainer plate extend` Ving beyondthe sides of the leaves, and a '50,

shackle surrounding said leaves and having interlocking connection With the sides of said retainer plate.

7. In a shock absorber, a retainer lplate formed of sheet metal and adapted to be positioned between adjacent leaves of a vehicle spring including a plurality of superposed spring leaves, said plate beingformed with an opening to receive an anti-fractionaly rolling element adapted to engage opposed faces of adjacent leaves, the ktransverse Walls of the opening being concave.

In testimony whereof I airix my signature.

FRANK B. LEONARD. 

